Judge Eloy Velasco said in a four-page ruling issued Wednesday that the United States has told Spain the U.S. government is holding investigations of its own. Velasco said for this reason, Spain cannot apply its doctrine of universal jurisdiction, which holds that, under some circumstances, crimes allegedly committed in other countries can be prosecuted in Spain's National Court.

Here is the letter the Justice Department submitted to Spain outlining its ongoing investigation into the Bush Administration actions. The Center for Constitutional Rights responds here. CCR's webpage on the lawsuit is here.

to Spain's 2009 request, I was at once embarrassed and ashamed - and that was before I read the CCR's response to the whole thing.

I feel even worse that Spain accepted the US's claims and thus declined to allow the suit to proceed; maybe Spain decided it didn't want to embarrass us more than we've already embarrassed ourselves, although why we should be allowed to save face in light of all that we know we have done is a mystery to me.